Teacher Mindy Veissid Meditates with Deepak Chopra on Good Morning America
Yesterday morning at 6:30am I was pinching myself in the middle of Times Square as I was about to walk into ABC Studios to meet and meditate with Deepak Chopra on the TV program Good Morning America. A more accurate, honest description: I was taking very deep breaths to calm myself as I was full of nervous excitement.
The segment we were on focused on meditation, and how important it is to incorporate it into our lives.
At 7:30am we went live with a live stream video on GMA’s facebook page where Deepak discussed meditation and guided us into a 15 minute zone of stillness. At first my heart was racing and thoughts like ‘OMG this is real!!’ and ‘he is right here, sitting 6 feet in front of me!!!’ occupied my mind. But his gentle soothing voice was right there in the room, not via my computer screen or my headphones. Within a few minutes my mind became more and more quiet and I could tap into the stillness within.
After the live stream was done I had the great honor of standing next to Deepak to have my photo taken with him. As my mind was calmed, I didn’t have one moment of nervous excitement – I just was. I was standing next to another human being who helped me get out of the crazy thinking phase to one of stillness and joy.
At 8:30 we were live on air, where some of the members of my group were able to ask Deepak questions about meditation. You can view that segment here.
I created my photography class ‘Intuitive Photography‘ in 2010, as this approach of photography was my primary source of meditation. When I’m with my camera, I forget everything that’s going on in my life and find myself in the present moment – seeing, feeling and sensing where I want to go and what I want to photograph. I turn my thinking mind off, allow the stillness to shine, and listen to my souls voice.
What I realized yesterday is that we can, and should, incorporate meditation into our daily lives. It doesn’t have to be sitting in a lotus position for 20 mins chanting OM. It can be done for just a few minutes as we’re brushing our teeth, riding the subway, sitting in traffic. All we need to do is chant something as simple as ‘I am’ or ‘In gratitude’ with every breath we take. Meditation physically changes us too (Deepak mentions this in the segment). I know I, for one, want to be in a still place when I teach, when I’m with friends and family, or when life just isn’t going the way I want it to.
I will still photograph intuitively, but I will incorporate these mini meditation sessions as often as possible throughout my day.
Yesterday morning at 9:15am I was pinching myself in the middle of Times Square as I just left ABC Studios after meeting and meditating with Deepak Chopra on the TV program Good Morning America. A more accurate, honest description: I was not taking very deep breaths to calm myself as I was full of nervous excitement. I was calm. I was stillness. I was joy. I was peace. I was in utter gratitude. I was.
